Summer in

Summer in the garden - February

Being one of the hottest months of the year, February is one of the main harvest periods for fruit and veges.

It’s all about reaping the rewards of what you have sown and planted, and of course planting your autumn crops! Don't forget to add some last summery blooms for a pop of colour.

Keep feeding your plants to encourage plentiful harvests. It's also important to keep an eye on watering at this time and keep the soil moist, to prevent plants from wilting. When plants get water-stressed, they become susceptible to pests and diseases, which can be very quick to move in. A healthy plant is much more likely to stay that way if it's well watered.

Many summer crops will be harvested and pulled out of the ground now. Follow our guide below for what to harvest now.

Harvest time is from seedling planting to harvest. For seeds, depending on variety, it will take an extra 6-8 weeks from germination to planting.

Download our planting poster

Our handy calendar shows you when to plant in your region, including harvest dates.

When should I plant

Lemon Growing Guide

This time of the year's great to start planting:

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The Wairarapa Vegetable Gardener's Diary

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Plant

Beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprout, carrot, coriander, lettuce, mesclun, parsley, parsnip, radish, rhubarb, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, spring onions.

HaRVeST

Basil, beetroot, beans, capsicum, carrot, celery, chillies, coriander, courgette, cucumber, eggplant, leek, lettuce, mesclun, parsley, parsnip, potatoes, pumpkin & squash, radish, silverbeet, spring onion, sweetcorn, tomatoes.

Maintenance

Being one of the hottest months of the year, February is all about reaping what you have sown; it's one of the main harvest periods. Keep feeding veges with Tui Vegetable Food or Tui NovaTec Premium fertiliser.
Potatoes - keep mounding up rows of potatoes to ensure a bigger harvest. When watering potatoes, water the soil and not the leaves. Keep the area around plants weed-free.
Sweetcorn - protect plants from strong winds by staking them or erecting a windbreak.
Tomatoes - remove the lower leaves of plants to allow more light to ripen the lower trusses of fruit. Immediately remove any diseased leaves or fruit that may appear, to limit the spread of the problem.
Lay Tui Quash slug & snail control to control slugs and snails.
If you have poor, dry soil, add Debco SaturAid to help retain more moisture.
Add thick layers of compost or Tui Pea Straw Mulch to vegetable beds to conserve water, reduce weeds and add valuable nutrients to the soil.

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The Wairarapa Fruit Gardener's Diary

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Plant

Blueberry

HaRVeST

Passionfruit, strawberries, loganberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, plums, apples.

Maintenance

Add a layer of Tui Mulch & Feed around the base of fruit trees, this will enable the soil to retain moisture throughout summer and keep the area weed free.
In dry periods keep berries, lemons, citrus, grapes and kiwifruit watered.
Continue harvesting summer fruit, check for pests and diseases as fruit is picked.
Ensure fruit trees are consistently watered as fruit ripen, Keep the soil moist, especially through dry periods.
Add Debco Saturaid to soil to help it hold onto water.
Birds can be a real problem eating fruits as they ripen, cover with netting where possible.
Aphids, whitefly and scale insects may be about, blast with a hose or select a suitable spray from your garden centre.
Remove excess apples from apple trees (this is called thinning) in some cases apples produce too much fruit and if left on the tree will limit the size and quality of ripening fruit.
Thin multiple clusters down to two or three apples per group.
Trim any long runners back to the centre of the strawberry plants, this will force the plant to produce more flowers which equals another batch of fruit.
Once nectarines, peaches and plums have finished fruiting, prune to shape and remove any dead or diseased branches.
Apply a side dressing of Tui Strawberry Food to give plants a energy boost for autumn harvest.

Blueberries

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The Wairarapa Flower Gardener's Diary

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Plant

Alyssum, fuchsia, petunia, impatiens, echinacea, verbascum and delphinium (for spring flowering), gaillardia, arctotis, gazania, marigold, wallflower, chrysanthemum, ranunculus, anemone, forget-me-not, pansy and viola, daisy, dianthus, gerbera, lavender.

PicK

Roses, cornflower, hydrangeas, carnations, delphiniums, strawflowers, lilies, gladiolus, sweet peas, cosmos, gypsophila, sunflowers, geraniums, marguerite daisy.

Maintenance

Fertilise pots and containers along with hanging baskets with Tui NovaTec Premium fertiliser or Enrich Pots and Containers controlled release fertiliser.
New seasons spring flowering bulbs start coming instore, plant anemone and ranunculus in February.
Apply Tui Bulb Food to summer flowering bulbs, in particular begonia, Christmas lilies and gladiolus to ensure best flowering next season.
Fertilise roses with Tui Rose Food to give the last blooms of the season a boost and to improve flowering next season.
Aphids and whitefly are still active. Be vigilant and spray with a suitable insect spray as soon as they appear. Or if infestations are small blast them off with the hose.
Lay Tui Quash every few weeks to keep slugs and snails at bay.
Take cuttings of fuchsias, dahlias, penstemon, marguerite and kingfisher daisies.
Deadhead or cut back summer flowers to encourage a fresh batch of flowers.
Hydrangeas – dead head spent flowers, and encourage blooms for the following season.
Add thick layers of Tui Mulch & Feed or Tui Pea Straw Mulch to garden beds and pots to conserve water, reduce weeds, and add valuable nutrients back into the soil.
Stake tall stems of gladiolus and dahlias to prevent heavy stems of flowers from falling over. Watch for thrips on gladiolus.
Sweet peas – collect seed pods for next seasons flowers, sow seeds in autumn for early spring flowers.